BFA Acting

The first year of study is an intensive exploration of the craft of acting, focusing on creativity, imagination, spontaneity, freedom, and physicality to prepare the actor’s instrument for professional rigor.    

Acting:  Improvisation as Acting Technique and introduction to scripted scene study prepares actors with the fundamental tools for stage and screen.
Movement:  Actors explore anatomy, play, physical devising, and human developmental movement patterns for greater inner connectivity and freedom of expression.   
Voice and Speech:  Actors explore anatomy, breath and sound for a healthy and free voice.
History:  Actors develop a greater understanding of the history of theatre and dramatic literature.
Crew:  BFA Acting students, like all first-year students at The Theatre School, complete three crew assignments as part of our public season.

BFA Acting students will audition and learn of their casting assignment for the upcoming fall quarter at the end of their first year.

The second year focuses on building a solid technique.

Acting:  Actors focus on contemporary scene study and text analysis and begin learning on-camera skills.
Movement:  Actors continue re-patterning movements and growing a larger movement vocabulary with tools of effort and motion factors, improvised solo and partnered Movement to Music and Stage Combat. 
Voice and Speech: Actors continue their vocal exploration with idiolect, phonetics and creating a new soundscape.
Stage Audition: In preparation for joining the “casting pool” students learn the techniques of auditioning for theatres large and small (screen audition classes begin in the 3rd year).
Stage combat training begins with hand-to-hand combat, rapier & dagger.
Stage makeup training prepares actors for stage and screen, natural and character make-up.
Production Practice: Actors are cast in three “Intros” (Introduction to Performance Series), which are full-length plays focused on the acting, with minimal tech, mounted in our black box studio spaces and directed by the faculty or professional guest directors.

The third year focuses on creative and poetic engagement with classical texts, Shakespeare and contemporary heightened language, and a distinct two-year track in Screen Acting.

Acting:  Actors train in the contemporary relevance of Shakespeare and contemporary heightened language.
Screen Acting: Actors begin a two-year Screen Acting track which begins with the language of filmmaking and etiquette on set, then focuses on the grounded realism of film acting technique, and later specific skills needed to audition for TV and film.
Movement:Actors synthesize their bodywork to meet the physical and vocal demands of the dynamic material they are exploring, inhabiting the size and scope of both heightened text and screenplays.
Voice and Speech:  Actors explore heightened language, vocal extremes synthesizing the movement, voice and acting work.
Production Practice: Third and fourth-year BFA Acting students, alongside our MFA Acting students, make up the casting pool for our public season. Each BFA Acting student in the casting pool will perform in a minimum of three productions over the course of the last two years of the program. Our public season is a mix of contemporary, classical, young audience theatre, and new works mounted in various theatres.  Actors may also be cast in additional productions, TTS collaborations with local theatres, student productions, and independent or curricular film or TV projects with DePaul’s School of Cinematic Arts.

Study Abroad (option and additional cost): Typically done following the third year of the BFA Acting program, The Greece Summer Acting Intensive, held on the island of Hydra, provides comprehensive training in performance, dramaturgy, storytelling, movement arts, and voice. Students immerse themselves in both ancient and contemporary Greek culture while contending with the island's natural environment. The program includes classes, workshops, and rehearsals, with a field trip to Mycenae and a performance at Epidaurus. Students present their ensemble-created play to local audiences and end the program with tours of Athens, including the Acropolis and Delphi, connecting deeply with the origins of Western theatre.  Watch a video about this program here!

The final year of the program focuses on preparing actors for the transition into the profession.

Acting: Actors embark on advanced scene study, ensemble development and creation, solo performance (an elective), film and television acting, and audition preparation.
Screen Acting: Actors continue with personal coaching and advances screen acting classes.
The Business of Acting: The fourth year introduces a new track of classes focused on building an acting business in the industry. The classes cover everything from Agents to unions, Taxes, Marketing, and more.
Solo Performance: A popular elective gives actors an opportunity to create and perform their own work!
Movement: Actors explore more kinetic moment with Action for the Screen (motion capture and on-screen combat) and African dance. 
Singing for Actors:  Actors explore singing for musical theatre.
Voiceover: A great revenue stream and form of expression for actors is the world of voiceover. You’ll learn the techniques and record a professional quality demo.
Graduate Showcase:  In the spring quarter, under the guidance of faculty, graduating actors prepare Digital (screen) and Live (stage) Graduate Showcases.  The Live Showcase consists of a series of scenes which may be presented in locations such as Chicago, Los Angeles and New York for casting directors, talent agents, producers, and directors from theatre, film, and television. The Live Showcase also includes a series of alumni networking events in each city to introduce and connect our graduates with our large alumni network.  The Digital Showcase is a professional quality reel that gives you a video calling card to start your career.
Production Practice: Third and fourth-year BFA Acting students, alongside our MFA Acting students, make up the casting pool for our public season. Each BFA Acting student in the casting pool will perform in a minimum of three productions over the course of the last two years of the program. Our public season is a mix of contemporary, classical, young audience theatre, and new works mounted in various theatres.  Actors may also be cast in additional productions, TTS collaborations with local theatres, student productions, and independent or curricular film or TV projects with DePaul’s School of Cinematic Arts.